Truth or Dare
by ToastySama
Summary: Does anyone know who Yugi's parents are? Or WHERE they are? TeaxSeto Azureshipping
1. The Waiting Room

Disclaimer:  I do not own any of the Yugi-Oh characters.  The only people which I MIGHT claim to own are the people without purpose, who run around and a substitute teacher.

In their high school, Yugi, Tristian, and Joey were shuffling their cards, as they waited for Bakura and Tea to show up.

"I had enough of waiting for them.  Let's START already," Joey whined.

"But, we can't start a five person duel, without five people," Tristian told Joey.

"So?  What should we do until they get here," Yugi asked.

"Let's duel one another, every man for himself."

"No way!  It took me all night to remake my deck.  And, I'm not going to let you guys see it and make strategies against it before we play a round-a-bout," Joey said.

"Well?  What do you suggest we do?"

"Truth or dare."

"Come on!  You've got to be kidding me!  That's a girl's game!"

"Come on, Tristian.  There's got to be something that you want to know about all of us, that you've never asked before."

"Well?  Who goes first?"

"**I go first, smart guy."  Joey gives no second thought about his question, "Will you admit to us that you like Miho?"**

"JOEY!  I outta-!"

"Take the truth or do the dare."

"Well?  What's the dare?"

"You have to ask her out."

"OK, OK!  You win.  I do like Miho."  Tristian starts to blush.

"You next, Yug."

"Do I have to?  I really don't have any questions to ask."

"Come on, Yug.  Ask me!  Ask me anything."

"Ok….  So, what's your strategy for using that deck?"  Yugi starts to laugh along with Tristian, after a few seconds.

Joey replies sarcastically, "Very funny, you guys.  Now, what's the real question?"

"All right.  In a one on one, friendly duel, who would you least like to duel?"

"Good question."  Joey thinks on it, a bit, "I'm going to have to say Bandit Keith.  He's two-faced, ya know."

"Wow.  I thought it would've been Pegasus," Tristian commented.  "But, Yugi?  I've never seen your parents.  What are they like?"

"Yeah.  I've never seen or heard your parents either.  Good question, Tristian."

"That's a tough one to answer guys," Yugi replied.  "But, I'll try my best.  And, this is going to be long.  Which one do you want to hear about first?"

"Your father," Tristian answered.

"Well, …my father-."

"Hi, guys," Bakura busted into the room.  I'm sorry I'm late.  I was supposed to meet up with Tea."

"Tea?  Where IS Tea, Bakura?"


	2. A New Job

A brunette, with hair as rich in color as a brownie, sighed as she rung up the bill for one of the tables she waited on.  It might have not been a sigh of relief, but more of a tired one, wanting to know when the peak dining hour will ever come to a close.  After her table cleared, she started collecting her tip while helping bus the table.

"Tea," a male co-worker said.  "You have a request."

"A request?"

"Yeah.  That guy, that I seated in that corner over there, wanted you to serve him."  As she looked at the shady corner, she noticed a bunch of tall men standing around him.  She knew he was important, from the security around him.

"Him?"

"Yeah.  He also says that he'll tip you well for your trouble."  She nodded and walked over.  But, the taller men started to push her away from her new customer.

"Stop that!  Let her through and get out of here," he told his security, sounding a bit annoyed by their presence.

"Yes, Mister Kaiba," one of the security guards said.  Then, the security left.

"Kaiba," Tea asked in surprise.

"Sit down.  I don't want any more attention being drawn to me."  She sat across from him, in the small booth.  Even though there was no emotion on her face, she tapped her foot with impatience.  It kept the study rhythm of her heart, which was beating faster, as is expected when you have to serve many tables at once, quickly.  Seto just starred at her very calmly.  His cerulean blue eyes usually seemed to be empty.  Not that he was dumb.  But, in an eerie way.  It was as if, he was looking at her shadow, and putting the pieces of who she was back together again, in his mind.  Before Tea's angelic blue eyes started to wonder about the room, he focused his eyes straight onto hers.  It made her foot stop tapping, and a small smile of amusement grew upon his face.  As if he were a lion, playing with a frightened mouse.  And, the expression of one was exactly the look on Tea's face when she noticed that his eyes caught hers.

"I have a proposition to make to you," Seto started.

"If you want a duel with me or one of my friends, this is not the time OR the place to be asking for one," she lectured to him as she started to get up.

He grabbed her arm, with a powerful grip, "SIT DOWN."  She looked at him with dislike to the way she was being treated.  She finally felt some of the physical power which Seto would not flaunt at school, like a guy like Tristian or Joey would.  He only shot the same look back at her.  She reluctantly sat back down, then crossed her legs, arms, and turned her head up and closed her eyes.

"I'm LISTENING, Kaiba."

"Like I was saying to you…I have a proposition to make."  All of a sudden she felt her arm being pulled, and her torso pulled with it, across the table.  Being startled, she opened her eyes, and the first thing she saw was Seto holding her left hand with his own, and him dropping a rectangular pile of something in her hand.  "Two hundred dollars."

"What?"

"You heard me.  I'm giving you two hundred dollars, just for you to show up on my door step.  And, I know you will.  And, since you don't seem in the mood to hear my proposal, I will give you eight hundred more, if you come inside, and let me tell you, what I wanted to tell you, before."

Tea looked confused, as he drew back and took a closer look at the money, "You're giving this to me?"  He nodded.  Her face turned sour again, "And, what makes you think I'll be going over to your place?"

"You will.  One way or the other.  Besides, I don't think anyone would pass up on a chance to make at least a tax free thousand, within five minutes.  And, you don't even have to agree with me to get it."  He got up and strolled out of the restaurant.  Tea only watched and wondered what strange offering would he give to her, that she could possibly refuse.


	3. A Meeting with Mister Kaiba

After Tea's shift was over, she went outside and started to walk home.  But, before she could get far, she was surrounded by three tall men in black suits.

"Mr. Kaiba requests your presence at once."  From the look on their faces, Tea knew she did not have a choice in the manner and got into the Limo with them.

She was escorted inside the Kaiba Mansion and into a dimly lit room. Seto sat in silence, watching the sunset.  He motioned for her to sit next to him.  The flame of the sun's setting rays, made his eyes look a bit green.  He handed her three one hundred dollar bills, right there and then.

He took another sip out of his glass, no doubt of it being wine, before speaking a word to her.  "I'm glad you came."

"Did I have a choice?"  He remained silent for the moment because he wanted to take that as a rhetorical question.

"Tea.  I want to offer you a position in my company."  He paused for a moment, then his voice became more of a whisper, "A very…**personal position."  Tea looked at him in shock.  He could ask anything of her at that moment and she bet that most women would not refuse his offers, due to the fact that he had more money than you could ever imagine.**

- - - - - - - - - 

Hi!  I need feed back.  Tell me how it is, so far.  : )


	4. A Meeting with Mister Kaiba (part 2)

"I want you to watch Mokuba for me."

"Mokuba?"

"He's tired of security and hired hands watching him.  I thought it would be better if a friend looked after him."

"But, …why me?  Why not someone like Joey or-."  Tea stopped in mid sentence because she heard him start to growl at the mention of Joey's name.

"I invite you into my home, and YOU'RE ungrateful?"  Tea lowered her head.  She forgot how much Joey and Seto despised one another.  He looked at her from the corner of his eyes, his frown becoming bigger at the pitiful look on Tea's face.  He got up and walked over to the window, swishing his drink in hand.  "The money's on the table.  Now, get out!"  Tea looked at the table.  And, as promised, she saw the rest of her thousand, all in a simple five hundred dollar bill.

"No!"

He half turned his body, to look at her, "What did you say?"

"NO, I'm not going!  I'm not going to let you order me back home and I'm NOT going to take your money!"

"Then, you wasted my time by coming here."

"It wasn't my choice to come here, Kaiba!"

He looked back out the window, "I'm not going to let you stand there, staring at me like that.  Now, you can get out on your own power or do you need me to personally throw you out, myself."

Tea marched up to him.  She stomped her foot down as she placed her hands on her hips, "I'll be glad to leave here, peacefully.  But, not until you tell me why you're asking me instead of anyone else."  A banging, then started at the door.  Seto walked over and opened the door.  It was a young boy with long jet black hair.  He hugged one of Seto's legs.  "Seto!"  Seto got on one knee and put his hands on the boy's shoulders.

"Mokuba.  Why are you here?"

"I KNEW you came back!  Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wasn't going to stay for long.  I didn't want to disappoint you."

"But, you promised that you'd always be there for me.  You look terrible, too."  Tea took the time to study Seto's face.  He did look a bit tired to her.

"I'm fine, Mokuba."

"You should stay and rest tonight."

"I'm not tired."

"But, Seto-."

"You remember Tea, do you?"  Mokuba turned his head and to notice that his brother was not in the room by himself after all, like he usually was.  He nodded.

"I don't get it.  If you didn't have much time to stay here, then why is Tea with you?"

"I was just about to ask Tea if she would like to spend some afternoons with you, since I can't be with you all the time."

"Huh?  Will she?"

"Well, she hasn't given her answer yet.  Haven't you Tea?"

"Well, uh…."  She was flustered.  "You're brother didn't tell me all the details, yet."

"Looks like that's a 'no', Mokuba."

"I never said 'no'," she snapped.

"Can you give us a few more minutes, Mokuba?"  Mokuba nodded and left the room, closing the door behind, him.  "It's ok if you leave now.  With or without the money.  I don't care."

"No.  We can't both leave now.  It'll break Mokuba's heart."

He stood up and started to walk towards her, "I don't care how you feel about us, Tea.  This is a business proposition which you benefit from even if you don't accept what I am offering you.  But, you never cared to listen to it until Mokuba entered the room."

"But, I would have listened, if you had told me that this was about Mokuba in the first place."

"Would you have?"

"I'll do it.  But, on one condition."

"Name your price and I'll see to it."

She shook her head.  Then, her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him, "It's not that."  Seto gave her a look, as if she was not normal.  "Please.  Tell me why?  Why me?"

He sighed as he turned away from her.  His gaze, more to the sky, then straight ahead to the wall, "Tea, …you have to understand.  I believe that Mokuba also needs…a woman's touch in his raising."  He then, looked her in the eyes, "I think that you could make a difference for him."  Tea thought about it for a moment.

"So, when do I start?"


	5. Stop talking in Class

Author's note:  After some thinking on who should be in this fan fiction, I've finally decided to add in the character MIHO, from the Yugi-oh Movie.  I am making this note to clarify that she is not a Mary-Sue made by me, but the creators of Yugi-oh.  And, she has no major role or importance to this story line.

_ _ _

*Miho's Appearance:  So that we do not have to give her too much personality, she wears a girl's uniform, like Tea does.  She has long lavender hair and lavender eyes.   She uses a light yellow ribbon to tie her hair up in a high ponytail.  While her hair is up, it reaches down to the bottom of her uniform skirt.

_ _ _

Joey and Tristian were running in the hallway, hoping to avoid the toll of the bell.  Yugi and Bakura were already in their seats, books opened and prepared for class.  Seto was also there.  Arms crossed, watching everyone's activities.  After Joey and Tristian entered the classroom, they high-fived one another in congratulation.  Unfortunately, Tea was four minutes late, to class.  The teacher reprimanded her and sent her outside the room.  Which, Tea was instructed to stand outside, holding two pales of water, a drop of which she was not to spill.

"Wow.  First Tea didn't meet us last night, and now she's late for class," Tristian said in disbelief.

"Yeah.  I wondered what's been up with her lately," Joey commented.

"Maybe Tea decided to work another job," Bakura said.

"Maybe she has a secret boyfriend that we all don't know about," Miho added.

"A…boyfriend," Yugi asked with an innocent look of surprise.  "Would she hide something like that from us?"

Tristian had a silly smile on his face, "I would never keep a thing like that from you guys…and you Miho.  Speaking of dating, I'm not seeing anyone right now."

"It's not the first thing she would have ever hidden from us," Yugi reminded Joey.

"Hey.  If Tea was supposed to have a boyfriend, who would he be, Miho?"

"I don't know who, exactly.  Let me think."

"Hey, Bakura," Tristian whispered something in his ear.

"Ok, Tristian.  Hey, Yugi.  The guys where wondering if you had any pictures of your parents while they were dating or married."

"I don't know, guys.  I guess I could ask about it."

"Well?  What are your parents like?"

"Bakura," the teacher yelled at him.  Then, sent him outside, with his desk to hold over his head.


	6. Serving Time for Doing the Crime

"Tea?  Why were you late for class today?"

"I overslept, today, Bakura.  I never did that before.  I guess I had too much on my mind last night.  So, why are you out here?"

"Let's just say, too many people were talking and she just happened to pick out my voice."  Tea tried her best to nod.  As you could hear, it was very rare to have a kid in class with a British accent.  Within the next ten to fifteen minutes, Seto burst out of the room and slammed the door closed.  He was marching past the two of them, then stopped, turned around, and walked back over to Tea, standing in front of her.

"I'm busting out of here.  Wanna come," Seto asked her.

"No, Kaiba.  I'm fine right here, holding these buckets," Tea said in a strained voice.

"Wait.  Why ARE you out here, Kaiba?"

"The teacher caught me dozing off in class."  He lifts the buckets off of Tea's shoulders.  She closed her eyes as she let out a sigh of relief, from the strain.  "No sub's going to tell me what to do.  Why be here, when I could be working on improving things that I've all ready made?"

"Mokuba was right," Tea thought to herself, "Seto doesn't look like he's been getting enough rest lately."

"You two sure you don't want to leave?"

"We're fine here, Kaiba."

"Suit yourself," he said as he put the bar back over Tea's shoulders.

"Hmm….  I wonder why Kaiba was being so nice to Tea and me," Bakura thought to himself.


	7. Lunch Time

"Man.  I never saw Tea be late for class before.  I wonder what's up," Joey asked.

"Yeah.  And, why won't you tell us about your parents, Yugi," Tristian asked.

"Well, you never asked."

"Then, tell us anything."

"Well, my father's-."  At that moment Bakura ran in, saying something fast and inaudible.  "Hey, Bakura.  Calm down.  We don't know what you're saying."

"I think Miho was right.  I think that Tea DOES have a boyfriend."

"A boyfriend," Joey asked in disbelief.  "You've GOT to be kidding me."

"I'm not!  I really think she has a boyfriend."

"Well, stop repeating yourself and tell us, already," Tristian told him.

"It's Kaiba."

"Kaiba," Joey yelled in astonishment.

"Yeah.  Remember when the teacher threw him out.  I saw him, ditch school, then.  But, before he did, he asked Tea to go with him.  But, she refused.  I think she refused because I was there, you know."

"That doesn't make any sense, Bakura."

"Yeah.  I think Kaiba's not her type," Yugi said.  His three friends stared at him.

"DO you know her type, Yugi," Tristian asked.

Yugi started to blush, "I mean, I would think that a girl like Tea wouldn't fall for a guy like Kaiba.  That's all."

"I'm going to have to agree with the two of them Bakura.  Tea and Kaiba together?  No way."

"Bakura," they heard a girl yell.  They all looked to see Tea and Miho standing next to one another.  "I trusted you not to tell the others about what happened in the hallway."

"Wait.  What happened in the hallway," Joey asked, acting dumb.

"That's what I'd like to know too," Miho said.  "Did you and Bakura kiss?"

Bakura turned beat red in panic, "Miho!"

"Did I say something wrong?"

"Nothing like that happened, Miho."

"Well?  Did Seto kiss you?"

Tea turned a bit red herself, "No, he didn't."

"Oh…," Miho then giggled.  "Now, I know why you were late for school."  Everyone looked at her for an explanation.  "You were up all night staring at the ceiling, not being able to fall asleep."  Then, she started to take a seat.

"Yeah.  That's right," Tea said slowly, "How did you know that?"

"I bet that's because Seto kissed last night."  Anime fall from Tea.

"Are you two going out, Tea," Joey asked, with the expression stuck on his face.

"Guys.  Listen to me.  He didn't kiss me and we're not boyfriend and girlfriend.  Dream on, ok?"  As they were eating lunch, Tea's mind started to wonder off.  She started to wonder if he asked her to watch Mokuba was because he liked her in a way he couldn't tell her.  There was only one way to find out.


	8. Sleepy Head

"He's in there, Mokuba?"

"Yeah.  He's been asleep ever since he came back.  I don't like it when he does that to himself."

"Does what, Mokuba?"

"He tends to work himself silly and expects to do school and take care of me as well.  He says he does it so in the future we'll always be together.  But, he keeps staying out more and more.  I wish I could convince him to stay here with me for a few days and forget about all of that work."

Tea crept in slowly, "Seto?  Seto, are you awake," she asked as she shut the door behind her.  As she looked around, she finally saw him, typing on his laptop.  "Oh," she yelled as she turned her head.

"Come over it ready.  You act like you just saw me in the nude."  Tea knew he wasn't in the nude, but she did know that he was in his pajamas.

She walked over and sat next to him on his bed, "You're supposed to be sleeping, Seto."

"Not tired," he replied without looking at her.

"How much sleep DID you get?"

"A hour and a half.  That's a hour longer than I would've liked to take."

"Seto.  Sleeping for that long, is not enough to keep anyone going, like you are."

"You may not be going, after only having that much sleep," he glanced up from his work, at her, for a moment, "but I do."

"Seto, you need to rest.  All of this working without you sleeping is REALLY, worrying Mokuba."

"He doesn't need to worry about anything.  I've always took care of us."

She frowned, "Well, …I'm worried about you not getting enough rest as well."

"Tea?  Bug off!  I don't need your advice."  Tea, then scowled at him.  She pressed and held down on the power button.  "What are you doing?  NO!"  He tried slapping her finger off of it, but her free hand intercepted his other hand, in a mean slap fight.  In a few seconds, the power turned off.  Seto starred at the screen, reflecting its blank look, as if he was its mirror.

"Now, go to bed," Tea huffed as him, as she snatched away the laptop.

"I'm not tired."

"Do it-," she said as she pushed him down.

He tried to get up, "I told you I'm not-."  She pushed him down again.  As his head met the pillow again, his eyes grew heavy.

"Seto.  Seto?"  She leaned down to see that he was fast asleep.  "I better go," she said to herself before she snuck out.

"Well?  Is he still sleeping?"

"Yes.  He's getting his rest, just like you told him, to."

Mokuba's face brightened, "He is?"  Tea nodded.

"Hey.  How about we play some games, now."

"Oh, boy!"  Tea shushed him.  He covered his mouth, then continued with a whisper like tone, "Can we play duel monsters?"  She smiled and nodded.  Then, he took her by the hand and led her off.


	9. Day Number Two

Tea was all most late for class, again.  She had too much fun with Mokuba last night to leave.  And, even though he had pleaded with her, she did not spend the night over there either.

"That was almost the second time in the row, Tea," Bakura told her.

"Well, I'm here on time, aren't I?"

"You're gonna come with us today, aren't ya," Joey asked.

"Huh?  Go where?"

"You mean, you don't remember?"

"Of COURSE I remember," Tea half yelled at him.

"Tea?  Do you have something to say," the substitute asked.

"No, ma'am."

"I think you should stand outside in the hallway, again, Miss-."

Yugi waved his arms in the air, "Sorry, ma'am."

"What," she asked in confusion.  "It was you?"

"I'm sorry.  Tea dropped her pen and I insisted to pick it up."  He points to the pen on the floor, "And, she was asking me not to bother."  He picked it up and gave the pen to Tea, with the usual darling smile on his face.  As she looked at the pen, she could tell it was one of Yugi's favorites.  Tea blushed for a moment.

"Well, …all right."  Then, the substitute went back to writing on the blackboard.

"Thanks, Yug."

"You don't have to thank me."  He started to blush, "I only did for you, what you would've done for me."  They smiled at one another, and went back to learning.


	10. Chicken

"Did he kiss you?"

"No, Miho."

"Come on.  I bet he did."

"Look.  I didn't see him, yesterday," Tea lied to her friend.

"It's about time," Joey yelled at them.  "Now, let's go, Tea.  Break out your deck.  I'm facing you first, since you two have been keeping us guys waiting!"

"Keeping YOU waiting?  Why I outta-," as she reached for her deck in her bag, she felt nothing there.  "Oh, no," she thought to herself in panic, "I don't have my deck.  I must have left it when I was with Mokuba last night."

"What's the matter?  Chicken?  Bawk, baw-baw-bawk, bawk, bawk!"  Tea let out a hiss under her breath.

"Don't give her a tough time, Joey," Yugi told him.  "She all most didn't make it to class on time.  I'm sure she wouldn't have been on time, if she remembered to grab her deck before running out of the door."

"YEAH!  Yugi's right!  I was up, making myself a better deck and forgot to put it back in," she lied to them, as she crossed her arms.

Yugi smiled, "You were?  I knew it.  I can't wait to see it tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," Tea asked with a tone of concern.  "Do you think I could get it done by tomorrow?"

"Well?  How many cards were you going to put in?"

Tristian butted in, "When are you going to tell us about your parents?"

Yugi sweats and chuckles nervously, "Maybe we should show Miho how to play, now."

"Yay!"  Miho yelled and ran next to Yugi, and he starts setting up for the game.

"Yeah.  I'll play against you, Yug."

"Hey!  But, wait!  I wanted to teach Miho," Tristian said.

"Well, maybe you could give her private lessons, later, like Seto gives Tea," Bakura chuckled.

"WHAT did you say?!"  Miho was the first one to look at Bakura with confusion, she had no clue.  Yugi looked at Bakura as if he ruined Tristian's secret crush for Miho. And, Tristian would have been mad, if it was not for the fact that he said something about Tea and Seto, while Tea was still there.  Joey only had the same look of disbelief of the comment and this was all before Tea shouted a word at him.  Tea was angry and Bakura started cursing under his breath with his eyes shut.  "Bakura, you're going to be-!"

"Did I interrupt something," a voice asked.  They all turned and saw that it was Seto.

"Oh.  No, Seto," Tea started as she started to turn red.

He looked down at her, "What are YOU looking at?  No one told you to speak."

"Well, for YOUR information, YOU don't own me!  And, you know what I'M looking at?  A guy who couldn't tell his mouth from the crack of his butt, even if he could look at both at the same time!"  Seto's eyes squinted at her in anger.

"Ouuuuuu-wou-wou," Joey commented pretty loudly.

Seto turned his attention to Joey, "Shut up, you filthy dog."

"Oh, yeah?  You better shut up or else!"

"Or else, what?"

"Come here," Joey yelled and ran at him to attack.  Seto barely side-stepped the punch and tripped Joey, who fell flat on his face.

"Joey," Tea yelled and knelt next to him.  "Get out of here, you big, bully!"

"Gladly…," he said before he started to walk away.  Everyone rushed to Joey's side to see and ask if he was ok.

"Nothing broken," he started, as he lifted his head off the ground, "I think."

"Oh.  By the way.  If you want THIS back," Seto shows them Joey's deck, "You'll have to play for it, Tea."

"THAT'S no fair," Tea yelled at him.

"Yeah!  Give it back," Tristian yelled as he ran towards Seto.

"Or what," Seto asked with a big smirk on his face as two bodyguards suddenly stood in front of him.  One of them pushed Tristian down.  The other took the deck from Seto.  "Meet me here, within an hour after school, Tea.  Or each card will be ripped one by one by me personally."


	11. An Afterschool Duel

Tea did not know what to think.  She knew that it was wrong for Seto to treat her friend like that, but then again, he had no right to talk down to her, either.  A student ran up to her after class and handed her a note.

"What's this?"

"This is where Kaiba wants to meet you," the student said, "You can't tell anyone where you are going and can't bring anyone with you."  Then, he ran off.  Yugi, who was standing next to her, looked up with concern as she read the note to herself.

Mokuba told me that you left your deck at our place.  I would have given it back to you today, but you decided to shoot off your mouth.  For that, you can get here on your own.

"Are you sure you want to face him alone, Tea," Yugi asked her.

"Yes.  I should be fine."

"Be careful.  Joey's counting on you to get his deck back."

"I will."


	12. In the Nick of Time

After a block of walking, it started to rain. That was probably one of the last things that needed to happen to Tea today. The rain came down hard and soaked her to the bone before she was even half way there. After the mix of running and walking she did, she finally got to the Kaiba mansion. She banged on the door for a moment, then finally rung the door bell. Once it swung open, it was none other than Seto himself, standing there, with a smug smirk on his face. Tea, who was hunched over, looked up at him, freezing from the cold rain droplets. Her chocolate like hair plastered to her head and face.

His face turned to disappointment, "It's about time you showed up." Her blue eyes grew more tense as she looked up into his. She next, stood up with a strong posture, reached up and smacked him. Seto did not move, nor said a word to her. It was like he either expected it or he knew good and well that he deserved it.

"I'm here now! But, if you touched ANY of Joey's cards-."

"They're fine," he said as he showed her the deck. "Follow me." She followed him reluctantly up the stair and into one of his smaller dueling rooms. "Ladies first," he said, as he opened the door for her. She pushed him back, to keep his distance from her, as she stepped into the room.

"I'm tired of your games, Seto."

"Fine. Then, we'll play for more then intended. What do you want, if you win?"

"I only came here to get Joey's deck back."

"I know. I'll give it back whether you win or lose. And, you don't want to play games. So, I'll give you something if you win."

"I don't need anything from you, Kaiba."

He sat down at the dueling table, "You mean, not a new pretty dress? Not a salary raise? Not some new cards for your deck? And, from looking at it, you could use some."

She was appalled, "You looked at my deck?" The thought of him looking at her deck was just as bad as the thought of being caught in her underwear in front of everyone. She sighed, "But, I never needed anything from you. Not the job, not the salary…. So, you can forget about me beg-," she sniffled, "begging," then she sneezed and started to slump down to the floor. "I don't feel too good."

Seto walked over and touched her forehead, "You're burning up. You need to go home." He helped her up and helped her back down the stairs. His staff got a limo ready for them and he helped her into it. He helped Tea down, to lie across the seats, as the limo drove off. She rested her head in his lap and he pulled her wet hair away from her face. She took the moment to look up at him, once she noticed that she was being touched. He only starred back into her eyes, but not the way he had before. She didn't see any worry in them. Not that she would even know what worry would look like on his face. He only looked down at her as he lightly brushed her hair back with his fingers.


	13. Absent

There were some rocks hitting the window.  By now, her friends knew that she did not come to school today.  She thought she was too miserable to go to the window, but that changed in a moment.

"Tea!  Tea?  Are you there," she heard Yugi yell.  Tea then, found herself to be moving to the window.  She opened it and saw all of her close friends waving at her.

"Are you ok?"

"Forget about that!  Where's my deck, Tea," Joey yelled out as he shook his fist.

"I…I…."  At that moment, a limo pulled up to the house.  It was one of Kaiba's bodyguards.  He came to the door and pounded on it.  "Wait a moment," Tea yelled, then pulled her head back inside and closed the window.  After she walked downstairs, she noticed two card decks on the kitchen table.  As she inspected them, one of them was hers and the other one Joey's.  She picked his up, as she went to the door.  Once she opened the door, the bodyguard shoved something at her.

"Mister Kaiba sent this for you.  He'll call you, later," then the bodyguard left.

"Well?  Do ya or don't ya have it," Joey yelled at her.

"Do," Tea said and threw it on the ground out of some anger.  Cards flew everywhere.

"Hey!"  The rest of their friends laughed at Joey and followed Tea inside.

"Hey, Tea.  What's that package that guy gave to you," Tristian asked.  They all gathered around the kitchen table.

"I don't know.  Let's see," Tea said as she put the package down and opened it up.  They all witnessed that it was a bowl of soup.

"Seto sent you soup," Bakura asked.

"I think somebody's part of a couple and won't tell us," giggled Miho.

"Seto and I are not dating," Tea blushed.

"Why not," Tristian asked.

"Look, he's just trying to be nice, that's all."

"Well, that's some apology meal."

"Yeah," Joey started as he entered the kitchen, "Since when has KAIBA been nice to us?  I say there's something fishy going on.  And, did you HEAR that guy?  He said that he'll call her later?"

"I thought I heard that, too," Bakura agreed.

"Look guys.  I don't know why Kaiba's doing this.  But, I do know that I got Joey's deck back and-," Tea sneezes.

"Boy, Tea, you sure look terrible," Yugi told her.  "If you ask me, I'd say eat the soup and stay in bed for the rest of the day.  Maybe even tomorrow, too."

Tea sneezed again, "I think you're right, Yugi.  Hey….  How about I talk to you guys later, when I'm getting better?  Ok?"

Miho giggled, "Call me first, ok?"

"All right."


	14. Get Well

"Hello?"

"Good.  You're up," Seto replied, from his side of the line.  "Did you receive the package I sent you?"

"Yes, I did."

Seto's voice became gentler, "Are you getting better?"

"Yes, I am.  Seto?"  She started to blush, "Thank you for sending the soup.  That was awful kind of you to do."

"Look Tea.  I only sent you the soup so that you can get better."  Tea started to smile.  "And, the sooner your better, the sooner you can get back to work!  Don't even think that I was trying to be nice to you or anything."

Tea felt a bit saddened, "I guess I was wrong about you, Seto.  And, I didn't need your soup didn't make me feel better anyway."  She started to cry.  "Good bye."  Then, she hung up the phone.


	15. News

News

"Hey, Seto?  Is Tea going to get better?"

"Yes."

"I heard you sent her soup."

He tried his best not to change his facial expression, "Yes, Mokuba."

"I bet you really like her."  Mokuba's face beamed, "You're in love with her, aren't you?"

"Yes, Mokuba.," Seto started sarcastically, "I'm MADLY in love with Tea."

"I knew it!  If you two get married, then I'll have a sister," Mokuba yelled with a huge smile on his face.  Seto sweats and starts to blush.  "I'm so happy for you!"  He hugs his older brother.

"Mokuba.  I was only being sarcastic."

"SURE, you were," Mokuba said back sarcastically.

Seto sighed out of frustration, "Mokuba, I have to get back to work now.  I'll see you later."


	16. Who's Calling?

Who's Calling?

Seto was writing down his latest idea, when his secretary called him.

"Mr. Kaiba?  You have several calls waiting for you."

"Tell them I'm busy."

"But, they're all from Mokuba, sir."

"Send them through."

"Uh, …hey, Kaiba," Joey asked.  "I saw that you gave soup to Tea yesterday.  So, what's up with you two?"  Seto hangs up on him.  The intercom beeps as the next call comes in.

"Um…Seto?  This is Miho.  Do you know who Yugi's parents are?"

"No I don't, Miho."

"Can you find out for me?"

"No, I won't, Miho," Seto presses a button, hanging up on her.  A beep comes in for the next call.

"Tristian has a crush on you, Miho," Bakura yelled in the phone.

"NOOO-," Tristian yelled.  A struggle for the phone is heard.  "Miho?  I'm sorry that Bakura called you.  He doesn't know what he's talking about!"  Bakura is heard laughing in the background.

"He didn't call Miho, you idiot."

"Oh my god!  Seto knows?  I think I'm gonna die," Tristian says, then a dial tone is heard.  The intercom beeps and the next call comes in.

"Kaiba!  I swear that if you hurt Tea, then I'LL hurt you."

Seto looks up at the intercom with a puzzled look on his face, "Yugi?"  A phone clicking and a dial tone is heard.  Seto quickly calls up Mokuba.  "Mokuba!?! Who was that last person?"

"I don't know."


	17. After School without Tea

After School without Tea

"How you feel, Tea," Yugi asked as he sat next to her bedside.

"I'm getting better, no thanks to Seto."

"You mean the soup he gave you was bad?"

"No.  It was really good.  But, every time he seems a bit nice, he always tries to taint my opinion of him.  Do you get guys like him, Yugi?"

"I may not get everything that everyone does, but I try to.  That's what friends do."

"Is it worth it for me to try to be his friend?"

"I don't know, Tea.  That's a decision that you have to make on our own."

"Yugi?  Did your parents know anyone like Seto?"

"Well, -."

Joey walked in, "Hey, you two.  What's up?"


	18. Let's Beat Joseph

"It's a whole new week," Tea thought to herself.  "I've got my deck, a new strategy, and am ready to kick Joey's stupid butt across the school ground."  She watched the clock patiently until the bell tone, to announce that class was over.  Next, she took off, skipping her locker, to find to perfect table to beat him at.  She sat down at one, took out her cards, and began to shuffle.  After a while, she heard some footsteps coming towards her.  "Good.  Now, he's gonna see who's a chicken."  Her next thought was interrupted by a hand slamming on top of hers.  She let out a shocked gasp as she looked up.  She saw three guys, all taller than her.  Then, she was tossed to the ground.

"You can't sit here.  This is our table," the leader said.

"Yeah," said his crony, as he picked up Tea's deck.  He started to look through it.  "How GIRLY!"

"Give that BACK!"

All three bullies looked at one another and replied, "Nah."

"You have to pay a fine, since you sat here," the leader smirked.  "I think your cards will do nicely."

She got up, "Give them back," swiping for her deck, but missed.

"Sit down," the leader growled as he back handed her.  Tea fell hard to the ground.  She knew that the sting of it turned the side of her face red.

"I suggest that you give the girl back her cards," a voice said.

"Or what?"  At that moment Tea looked up, to see that it was Seto Kaiba that made the suggestion.

He put down his brief case and cracked his knuckles.  "I thought you'd never ask," he said with a smirk.  The leader pointed his second stooge to get him.  After Seto tossed him over, the two joined.  Seto punched his next opponent to the ground, then put the next one into a headlock.  The second stooge stood up and grabbed Seto from behind.  Seto threw him off quickly, but also lost his balance.  That gave a lot of time and an opening for the leader and his crony to pull Seto to the ground.  Tea covered her mouth with her hands as she watched in horror.  She knew that he was faster than that.  She wanted to help him, but she did not know how.  She was so frustrated that she started to cry after seeing Seto take on so many hits.  Then, she finally screamed as he hit the ground.  The three bullies looked up at her; that gave Seto enough time to recover and get back up and actually managed to handle them all on his own, but he took a few too many hits himself, in Tea's opinion.  Finally, they decided to run off because people were starting to investigate Tea's scream of horror.  Tea got up and ran next to Seto's side.  She knelt down in front of him and stared at him with a wide look of concern in her teary eyes.

"Seto…."  She quickly took out a handkerchief and started to use it to clean Kaiba up.  Mostly his face.

"Leave me alone," he said as he threw her hand off.  "I'm all right."

"No, you're not.  You're bleeding."  Seto rubbed his sleeve against the side of his mouth and then, started to look at it.

"I'm…bleeding?"

"Yes, …you are."  There was silence between them as she continued.  She started to blush as she noticed the way he was staring at her.  "You need to see the nurse."

He pushed her away and yelled, "I don't NEED to see the nurse!  I'm Seto Kaiba!  You hear me?  I'm SETO Kaiba!

Tea huffed at him, "FINE!"  She stood up and started to briskly walk away.

"Tea!  Come back!  Please?"  She stopped at the gentleness of his plead.  She turned around and walked back to him.  "Tea, I need you…."  Tea's eyes lit up with excitement at the phrase.  Her suspicions were true.  "To baby-sit Mokuba for a while longer tonight."  Her delighted surprise turned into a scowl, and turned back around to leave as she did once before.  "Tea, wait!"  She stopped for a moment to look at him.  "You're still baby-sitting Mokuba tonight, aren't you?"  Tea then, stomped off.


	19. Good Plan

The guys tried their best not to think about what was bothering them.  But, then again, there had not been a conversation between them without it.

Tristian finally opened his mouth, "Guys?  I think Tea and Seto are seriously together."

"Well, we can't really know that for sure," Bakura told him, "Not unless someone catches them together."

Yugi nodded in agreement, "That's true.  But, none of us had seen them together."

"So?  Let's catch them in the act," Tristian shrugged.

"Yes!  My idea will work," Joey laughed.  "You see?  We will follow Tea around and then catch her and Seto together."

"Hey!  But, I thought of that, Joey-."

"Let's go!"

Yugi grabbed Joey by the sleeve, "That won't work, you guys.  At least not today."

"Yugi?  Yugi, what do you know?"

"Tea's working really late tonight.  We've talked to Mokuba, too, so we know he isn't around much.  You're not going to catch them going out together."

"You're right, Yug.  We need a better plan."

"But what," Tristian asked.

Bakura smiled, "How about we ask a girl?"

"Brilliant!  Glad I thought of that," Joey yelled.

"But, Joey you didn't-, nevermind."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sorry guys that I couldn't put up chapter 20.  I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to writing, staying true to each character's instincts.  The next chapter's great, but I haven't found a good way to end it.


	20. A Long Friday Night

Tea looked around the room, again. Her eyelids felt heavy. She idly let the stack of cards fall from her fingers to the table with a familiar soft sound. Once the stack recollected itself fully at its new local, she lifted it back up into the air and did so again.

"I'm back," Mokuba yelled. He opened a briefcase filled with cards. "Take a look. You can take as many as you like."

Tea's eyes widened, "Mokuba. Where did you get all of these from?"

"HELLO! My brother owns Kaiba Corp," Mokuba yelled in response. "He has enough money to buy any card he wants."

"Hmm. I guess I'm really tired. What time is it, Mokuba?"

"It's time for you to get a new watch," he joked and chuckled.

"Really, Mokuba."

"It's just after 1am."

"I thought he'd be back by now," Tea groaned.

Mokuba looked at her with concern, "I better have the servants get you a room, then. No one will be able to take you home tonight. Be right back." Tea would have objected, if she had the strength. She carefully put away her deck in her bag. "We're back."

At those words, she looked upwards to see who was with him. "Seto?" They both walked into the room together.

"Everything's ready for you to stay over."

Seto gave a quizative look over to his brother, "Stay over?"

"You're honestly not going to make her walk home at this time of night, Seto."

"Go to bed, Mokuba," Seto said softly.

"But, Seto-!"

"NOW, Mokuba." Mokuba starts to walk towards the door; without turning, Seto yells, "Mokuba! Aren't you forgetting to say something?"

Mokuba turns to Tea and bows. "Thank you for coming over tonight, Miss Tea."

"And?"

"Goodnight, Miss Tea. Goodnight, big brother." Then, Mokuba leaves the room.

"If you want me to go home right now, then I understand, Seto."

"No," Seto said as Tea started to stand. "Sit. Let's talk."

"I prefer to stand," Tea says as she stands up fully and walks over to him.

"You do look in no condition to be going home. And, I hear that Mokuba worked hard to prepare a room. You can stay." He walked into the hallway.

"Good, because I could've collapsed in that chair at any moment," Tea said as she followed.

"This is it," Seto said as he opened the door. Tea peered in to see that it was quite frilly with white lace. There were splashes of pink here and there with the use of pillows and other decoration that one could simply pull in and out of the room at will. Tea walked over to the bed and sat on it. She could have fallen asleep at that very moment.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes. It seems comfy." Seto's eyes settled on something next to her. She looked in the same direction, "What's this," she asked as she picked up the item next to her.

"So you don't have to sleep in your clothes. Over there is the bathroom," he pointed. He then stood in front of her as she stood up. "Are you ok? They didn't hurt you, did they?"

"No. But, what about you?" She touched his left side, where it had been kicked. Seto drew in a sharp breath and would have fallen to the floor if Tea did not help support him. Next, she started to help him to the bed. "Oh, Seto, I'm sorry!"

He looked up into her eyes. "I see that it left a mark," Seto said as he put a finger on her face, it sliding along the outside of a scratch.

"It's only superficial. He didn't draw any blood…." She put her hand on top of his, to stop his hand. His touch made her nervous, yet she had the jitters at the same time. And there she was. Staring into his eyes, which were like pools. His hand upon her face and her hand on top of his. He started to lean in forward and her cheeks started a soft pink glow.

"Tea…." He gently cradled her hand into his for a moment as he blinked; his eyes regained a familiar look in them, then let go of her hand. He quickly stood, "I need to check on Mokuba." Next he walked off towards the door.

"What about your wound," she asked if she sat on the bed. He stopped.

"I'm just a bit sore."

"I think someone should look at-."

"I'll be fine," he snapped at her with a slight turn of his head, "There are phone numbers next to the night stand if you need anything. Good night," he said as he left.

"Good night."


	21. Sweet Dreams

Tea folded down the covers on the bed. What should have been on her mind was that she never would have thought to be sleeping in a mansion or even to sleep in silk pajamas in her life. She laid down and shut her eyes.

"Do I really like Seto?" She opened her eyes again. "I don't know why, but it's like I suddenly find him attractive. I actually had the urge to kiss him tonight. And, I blew it! But, does he like me? I like him enough to think of kissing him. Well, he likes me enough to let me work here. At least enough as a friend. And, he let me stay tonight, though he didn't have to. He likes me enough to offer me that. But, maybe it's so not to disappoint Mokuba. He tries his best to be there for him. They spend most of their time together on the weekends. Would he have kissed me if he never had a little brother? And, if I told him that I liked him…how would he take it?"


	22. A Good Saturday

Tea literally found herself roaming the halls of the Kaiba mansion. She did not know where to go. After a while, she started to smell food and her stomach started to grumble. She could not think of anything else to do but follow the smell. She turned the corner and started to blush after an abrupt stop.

"Tea!" Mokuba waved.

"I'm sorry," Tea yelled real fast and turned her head. There was a doctor examining Seto. Then, in her head, he realized that part of what she just saw was a bruise on Seto's side. She turned back, teary eyed, "Seto…."

Seto pushed the doctor away from him, "Leave." The doctor did so in a hurry. Next, Seto put on a shirt, sat down at a table, and picked up some utensils to eat.

"Join us," Mokuba smiled. Seto shot him a glance, but Mokuba reflected it back. The older brother just rolled his eyes in the reply of 'fine'. Mokuba hoped into a seat.

Tea sat across from Seto, "Seto, you're side-."

"Just pretend that you saw nothing."

"The doctor says that it's pretty bad. Seto shouldn't go out for at least two days," Mokuba said before he put a fork full of food in his mouth.

"I would say so myself. Did he break anything?"

"Well-."

"Can we NOT talk about my wound," Seto exclaimed. It was silent for a few moments, until he decided to break the silence. "We're going shopping today."

"We are?"

"We ALL are."

"Even…me," Tea asked shyly.

"Am I the only person in this room? YES, you too." Mokuba started to smile to himself unnoticeably between the two.

"What for?"

"I'm supposed to have a business dinner. And, since I can't go out, I'm bringing it here. I very well can't have you lounge around the place in your school uniform. It's just tacky. In fact, the thought of you lounging around is just tacky." Tea started to get red with anger. "That's why I decided to have you join Mokuba and I." Tea was now shocked at the news and her reddish tinge was more out of embarrassment from her prior feelings. Mokuba was trying to keep himself from laughing. "Consider this a test to see if you've done anything to improve Mokuba's behavior."

Mokuba yells, "HEY!" Seto sneered at his brother and Tea began to giggle. Seto and she then started to burst out laughing. She started to take in the small things like how his hair touched his brow and the beauty of his smile…his whole face was just so: handsome. 'My what a handsome face he has', she subconsciously thought as her heart started to thump harder.


	23. Dressing Up for the Dinner Party

The two brothers made sure that Tea knew all of the proper adequette to know before the dinner. Seto was mostly nursing his wound, for the afternoon, leaving Mokuba and Tea to shop on their own.

"What's Seto going to wear," Tea asked Mokuba, from outside the dressing area.

"Nothing fancy. It's supposed to be all one solid color."

"One color? What color?"

"He didn't tell me," Mokuba answered as he came out. He wore a navy blue suit. Under it was a white shirt; at the edge of his coat sleeves, blue topaz cufflinks.

"Are you going to wear a bow tie with that?"

"No. I'm going to use a normal one. This is an important deal, you know. So, I want to look older." He pulled out a navy tie that reflected the smallest bit of light. "I don't want to upstage Seto." Tea went into the dressing room and came out wearing a black velvet dress that stopped halfway down her thighes, with black straps, and below her bust line was a red ribbon with a giant bow in the center of the front of it.

"What IS that," Seto asked as he came in, pointing.

"It's what I'm going to wear to the dinner."

"No, no! I will not be seen with you looking like that." He went through the racks and picked out a purple one. Try this on. Tea went to put it on and stuck her head out, trying her best to hold the dress together.

"Seto, this is WAY too big," Tea said blushing. "And, the sleeves and the sequins on this thing is awful. You don't know a THING about fashion."

"I don't have to. But, you're the one to talk. I can't let you wear something plain awful to the dinner."

"Don't worry, Seto. I'm going to try my best to upstage you!" She stuck her tongue out and went back into the dressing room.

"Well, you're make-up lady is going to come in forty-five minutes and also someone who will take in your dress. So, you better have a dress in thirty-minutes, so that the tailor can get started on the adjustments he should make.

After all of different dresses, the hair, and the make-up, she was finally ready. The make-up was a lot for her. At most she would use was some colored lipgloss and maybe even a tiny bit of blush. But, the lady put powder on her face, mascara on all of her lashes (the lower ones too; she was amazed), and baby pink lipstain on her lips. To Tea it was very visible, but no more than a color that anyone else could have for their natural lip tone, except of course it made her mouth shine like it was wet.

"Here goes," she thought to herself before she opened the door to the room. She touched her hands to the back of her head to make sure that the large gold comb was secure to in her hair, as she walked down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairwell were the Kaiba brothers. Mokuba was wearing his dark suit, like he said he would. Seto was wearing a gray suit. No, …it was more like a silvery slate blue that really did not shine. The hue of blue was faint to the eye. Speaking of eyes, Tea realized how incredible Seto's eyes were. They perfectly stood out in contrast.


	24. What do you see?

Seto leaned down to Tea and whispered into her ear, "You look good."

Tea's normally bright smile, then started to beam ear to ear, "Thank you." They smiled at one another.

"I'll take the lead."

Miho, who is peering into the window from outside, gasps.

"What do you see," Joey asked, sounding strained.

"Seto, Tea, and Mokuba are looking GOOD! Hey, wait... They're going into the next room." Miho points with her left arm.

Joey looks, "Thank goodness those windows are lower. Now we'll all be able to see." Joey lowers Miho down. They start moving towards the bushes below the next set of windows.

"Joey. Are you sure that this is a good idea," Tristian asked.

"Yes. Between Miho and I, we'll find out everything."

"And, what about me?"

"Hey! You came along on your own."

"I came along to protect Miho."

"You're kidding right? You didn't even help me hold her up." Tristian starts to turn red.

"Shh," Miho went to both. All three peeped through the window, from the bushes.

The Butler came into the dinning room, "Presenting, Mr. Kaiba."

Seto walked into the room. Mokuba, joined arm and arm, with Tea walked in and stopped on Seto's right. "Good evening, Gentlemen. I hope you don't mind, my brother, Mokuba and, the nanny, Tea Mazaki joining us tonight."

(An hour later.)

Tristian and Joey both have looks of hunger on their faces.

"That food smells SOOO good. I'm so hungry," Tristian says.

"Me, too," says Joey.

"What do we have here?" Tristian screams like a girl; Miho and Joey scream as they look up. There's two security guards. Black haired guard, "Call it in."

The brunette security guard, touches a button on his radio, "We have trespassers on the premises."

"I hope you enjoyed dinner, sirs," Seto smiled from across the table.

"Yes, we did." The butler re-enters the room and whispers something into Seto's ear.

"Hmm?" Seto turns to Tea, "Tea? Do you mind taking Mokuba to his room?"

"Yes, Se-. Yes, Mr. Kaiba." She takes Mokuba's hand and leave. The Butler closes the doors after them.

"I'm sorry, sirs, but there appears to be a security breech. I am not sure how long it will take for us to handle."

The man across the table with grey hair and brown eyes had a scowl on his face, "Mr. Kaiba, this conference was supposed to be top secret. We tolerated Ms. Mazaki being here, but this is enough. Apparently, this meeting was not supposed to happen."

"But-."

"But, we won't penalize you for it, YET. Deal with your lazy security, tonight. We guarantee that you'll lose this deal if it's not taken care of, in advance, by next time."

"I understand."


	25. Intruders

Seto marches into a small library. He puts his hands on his hips as he looks at the faces of each Joey, Miho, and Tristian. Each intruder was tied to a chair. "Why were you three tresspassing?"

"Un-unh, Kaiba," Joey shouted, "What the heck is Tea doing here?"

"Shut-up, dog!"

"Why I oughta-," Joey moves around so much in the chair, he falls to the ground, landing on his face. "OW!"

Seto shoots a look at Tristian, "You!"

Tristian starts whimpering like a girl, crying, and pleads, "Please don't hurt me, Mr. Kaiba!" Seto just rolls his eyes at him, then crosses his arms and looks away.

Miho seemed shy, "Mr. Kaiba?" Seto looked at her, in response. "Are you Tea's boyfriend?" Joey and Tristian both look scared and started to whimper. Seto's mouth slightly drops open. "Because the way you two were looking at one another, at the stairs, you both seemed more than friends."

Seto turns to the brunette bodyguard, "Get her out of here." The security guard picks up the chair and starts carrying her out.

"I'm pretty sure she likes you," Miho yells as the guard carries her into the hallway.

"Please forgive, Miho," Tristian pleads, "She has a really big imagin-."

"SHUT UP."

"Please don't kill us!"

"Pathetic," Seto says under his breath.

Joey struggles to lift his face off the ground, "I swear if you hurt either one of them-!" Seto kicks him. "OUHF!"

Seto turns to the black haired security guard, "Do what you want with them, then take them out, with the other one."

"With pleasure," the black haired security guard cracks his knuckles. Seto leaves the room.


	26. Down Memory Lane

An angry Seto starts marching down the dark hallway; thinking to himself, "What the heck did that stupid girl mean, anyway?" Everything seemed to be going in slow motion to him.

Seto was seated in his limosine, heading home, after school. At a stop light, he notices two boys playing "keep away" with a red hat, against a small girl. While chasing her hat, she trips over her own shoelaces, falls down, and started to cry. Tea runs over and chases the boys off. The two boys, startled, drop the hat and run off. Tea picks up the hat, turns around, and walks back to the child. She checked the child for scrapes. Seto takes notice of Tea's kind actions. The limosine pulled away while Tea tied the child's shoe, with a smile on her face.

Seto was sitting in the booth at Burgerpalooza, watching Tea. "Leave," he told the brunette security guard.

"Are you sure?"

Seto almost laughed, "Don't worry. She won't give me any trouble. I've been watching her for a few days, now." He smiled as he thought, "Especially when anyone can be bought."

Seto...marching down the hall. He slows down as he passes a particular doorway. In his head, he hears Tea giggling with the flashback of an image of her playing with Mokuba.

Loud music is playing from the room. Seto barges in, "What's with that racket!

"Big brother, you're home," Mokuba yells as he runs over and hugs Seto. Seto looks up and sees Tea playing the dance battle game, wearing a white t-shirt and red shorts. He studies her movements for a while.

"Are you dancing?"

Tea giggles, "This isn't dancing."

"Of course not to you," Mokuba says. He turns to his brother, "Tea wants to become a professional dancer." Seto's eyes looks down Tea's body and stops at her thighs.

Tea turns around, "WHAT are you looking at!"

Seto sweats, "I thought Mokuba was kidding and decided to look for myself."

Tea turns bright red and runs behind Mokuba, "STOP THAT! Don't you have any matters? It's impolite to stare at a woman like that! Right, Mokuba?"

"It is?"

Seto gives Tea a suprised look, "HAVE you been teaching my little brother anything at all?"

Tea looks down at Mokuba, "Mokuba? You should never stare at a woman like that. She'll end up slapping you."

"Then, why haven't you slapped my brother, yet?"

"I have the right mind to," Tea muttered through her teeth.

Seto makes a face as he closes his eyes and pulls on his collar with his left hand. Next, he looks at the television, "How do you work that thing, Mokuba? You know that Kaibas don't dance."

"Hey, Tea? How about we show him 'the routine'?"

"Okay." They select a song and each step onto a metal dance pad. They do all of their moves in unison; even switched places in unison, Tea jumping towards the television and Mokuba away. At the end of the song, they both dropped to a knee on a down arrow, hit an up arrow with one hand, then high-fived one another with the other hand. They both started laughing. "You're getting better, Mokuba."

Seto picks up his pace. But, not by much. "Why does this seem to be taking forever to get to my office?"

Seto leads Tea into a room blindfolded. He then, removes it.

Tea gasps. "A dance studio-?"

"Yes. IF you like dancing as much as Mokuba claims you do, then I guess you'll use it. We don't get much use out of it. Just defensive training with Mokuba."

"But, if you both don't dance then why is it here?"

"Well, our father," he paused as he looked at the ground, then at himself in the mirror. His voice sounded distant, "Our father, before he decided who to adopt, ...made this. We don't dance, but there's no point in converting it to anything else, since we still do use it."

"But, just not for dancing."

"Of course. You may use it whenever you like. I think it'll be better for both of us, if I can one day see the evidence of your prancing around, instead of having to stare at your legs." Tea held her breath as she gave him an angered look.

Tea breathed out, relaxed her face, then spun around in a circle. "I guess this is the closest I'll get to an apology," she thought. "Thank you, Seto," Tea said softly.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that. I have better things to do," he told her as he left the room.

Seto's hand lands upon the doorknob of his office. The turning of the handle so slow, it seemed like a dream.

The lights turned on in the office. Seto stands alone, wearing his white coat, with dark circles beneath his eyes. He had not slept in two days. As he walks through the room, he sees that it's 5:36am. Seto looks up from his desk, as one of his monitors turn on, showing the dance studio. He knew that monitor was particularly reserved to watch the dance studio. Tea walks in, wearing a pink leotard. She plugs her mp3 player into the stereo, selects a song, then starts to stretch. As Tea practices a slow routine, Seto starts to fall asleep.


	27. Ultimatum

"Seto," Tea gently asked as she came in. The office was dimly lit. She saw that Seto was writing something and he looked quite mad. "What's the matter?" As she walked towards his desk, he pointed to one of his monitors. She gasps as she sees that it's from a camera outside the mansion and that Tristian, Miho, and Joey are looking through the diningroom window.

Seto pauses it as one of the guards picks up Joey kicking and yelling, "THAT, was taken about an hour ago. I'm going to lose my deal because of those fools! Did you have anything to do with this?" Tea was still stunned at what she was looking at. "Tea!"

Under her breath, "I can't believe they went this far to find out..."

"What are you mumbling about?"

"Seto... The reason why they were here was because there was a rumor at school that you were my boyfriend."

Seto blinks, then lets out a heavy sigh as he looks down. After a moment, he looked back up at her, "I was going to fire you, but I'll let you keep the job if you don't socialize with any of those dweebs, ever again."

"Seto! They're my friends. I wouldn't give them up for anything."

Seto's stare caught her eyes, "Seven thousand."

Tea was startled, "What?"

"I'll give you seven thousand dollars, if you agree to never speak to any of them, ever again."

"No," Tea said nervously as she cupped her hands and brought them to her chest and took a couple of steps back.

"Ten."

Tea was in disbelief, "No!"

"Fifteen."

Tea's eyebrows furrowed, "Seto, ...I would never give up any of my friends for money."

Seto stood up and started walking over towards her, "Fifty-thousand". He set his hands on her arms. Tea, startled, looked up and saw herself reflected in his eyes. "Fifty-thousand," he blinked and his eyebrows lowered into a straight line. His voice then softened, "And, stay with us, tonight."

Tea looked sad and shook her head. Tears started to roll down her face, "I won't. Kaiba, I quit." Seto watched as she turned around and walked out of the room.

"Seto? Seto. Seto." Seto woke up, pupils wide, looking around; he did not know where he was. His eyes settled on a figure with long black hair. As his eyes started to focus, he figured out that he was looking at Mokuba. "Seto. I thought you left." Seto's eyes finally focused. "You fell asleep in your office, again."

"Did I just dream all of that," Seto thought to himself. He took in a sharp breath as he held the left side of his stomach.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." He took in a deep breath, then looked at his brother, "Good news. Our client will rearrange our meeting, after the fiasco last night."

"That's good, Seto!"

"But, we'll have to leave Japan. They want it on their terms. You're coming with me."

"Okay. What about Tea?"

"I don't think so, Mokuba. By the way, is she still here?"

"No."


	28. Between the Lines

Tea stared at lined paper. The page still fresh, as it had been days prior. All of a sudden, there was bumping at her head. She felt a light bump on her forehead and she turned to see a few students running out of class. As she looked around, the class was empty and that there were crumpled up balls of paper surrounding her. She unraveled the piece of paper that hit her face. It was a drawing of Seto with fangs that had blood dripping from them and bat wings extending from beyond his coat.

Miho walked over and snatched it away, "Tea? Are you okay? You've been like this for a week."

"It's only been about two days."

"Try FOUR!"

"It's Wednesday?" Miho nodded. "Miho? I don't want you talking to the guys about this. I need you to talk to Mokuba for me."

Mokuba marched into Seto's office and slammed the door behind him.

"What do think you're doing-?"

"We need to talk!"

"About WHAT," Seto asked impatiently, as he turned to get his jacket.

"About Tea."

"What about her?" He started putting on the jacket.

"Did you know that she quit?"

"Yes."

"You let that happen and you didn't even tell me?"

Seto shot a displeased glance at his brother, "Yeah, So? She didn't even teach you much, anyway."

"What did you do to make her quit?" Seto stood his ground, in silence. "TELL me!"

"I offered her cash in exchange for leaving her friends."

"You offered her hush money? Even worse, you offered her money to leave her friends. No wonder she quit, you were trying to buy her."

"Mokuba! I wasn't trying to buy her! In fact, I knew that she would never take my money!"

"Then, why do it?" Seto was silent. "Why offer it if you knew that she wouldn't take the money!"

"I..." He paused and relaxed his posture.

"You're jealous!" Seto's eyes went wide. There was truth in that. "You're jealous that she's able to spend all the time with me, that you want to. Or rather the time that you used to. In fact, being with her reminds me so much of how you used to be." Mokuba's eyes started getting glassy. Seto started to realize some of his brother's unhappiness. "You know, you don't have to work as hard as you do."

"I do it to protect you, Mokuba."

"Yeah. But, I miss the way we were..."

"Time only moves foward, Mokuba. We have to make the best of what we have now and whatever time we have left."

"I also miss Tea." Mokuba could see it in Seto's eyes, but he couldn't wrap his mind around what they were telling him. "Seto, she wouldn't do anything to hurt us. We both know that she's not that kind of person. I just can't help feeling that there's another reason why you fired her. Where you testing her?" Seto's eyes were very telling, then he looked at the floor.

Seto started to pack up his briefcase and looked at his brother, "Don't be silly, Mokuba. Tea left us because she wanted to and I know that right now you'd feel that way regardless of who your babysitter was." He picked up his briefcase and started to walk towards the door, "It's your fault that I'm late, now."

Mokuba watched him and asked gently, "When will you be back-?" Seto slammed the office door behind him. "Seto."


	29. Rumor Has It

The bell run. It was lunch time, but Seto hasn't hungry for the past few days. As students left the class, a male student slammed a piece of paper on Seto's desk. He ran off laughing with a few other students. It was a drawing of Seto and a pregnant Téa at a wedding alter. The priest is dressed as a 'blue eyes white dragon'. There was an arrow behind Téa, displaying the words "Bride's Train" and an arrow behind Seto displaying the words "Groom's Train". In comparision, Seto's groom train was far longer than the bride's train. Seto growled as he crumpled up the sheet of paper.

Seto was leaning against a fence. He seemed bored. All of a sudden, a fat middle school student is seen running past him on the other side of the fence. He sighed as his eyes followed the boy, then his eyes looked back from where the boy came.

"Sorry, about being late," Mokuba said as he started walking up to the fence.

Seto looked away, "I told you how to win that fight."

Mokuba looked up at him with fierce eyes. The body language looked familiar. He grabbed the fence and gave it a firm shake, "I know how to fight, Seto!"

Seto shot the exact same glance back, "If you knew how to fight, you would've been able to end it with one hit! He wasn't worth your time. You should have at least held him in a painful lock."

"I enjoy a challenge."

Seto relaxed and folded his arms as he leaned back against the fence, "If you give yourself too high of a handicap, you can lose in a blink of an eye. I don't understand why you toy with your enemies. That's more Gazaboro's style, don't you think?"

"..."

"Now, what's the news?"

Mokuba relaxed and leaned back against the fence and closed his eyes, "Your request about firing Miss Medusa was denied."

Seto turned his head, "What! Miss Lynn Medusa?"

Mokuba turned and looked up at him, "Yeah. Rumor has it that she challenged your complaint right away. She knew that you had a pattern of not showing up for any classes, after you make a complaint against a teacher. So, your school temporarily placed her in my school, during the last week, while they kept checking your attendence record. She's been teaching your class, again, since this Monday."

Seto let out an angry huff, "Never mind that. I'll deal with her later. What else did you find out?"

"People are putting down money bets that they can be the first to provide evidence of who Yugi's parents are."

"Hmm... Any other news?"

"Some blonde female duelest, yesterday was wondering around your school. When someone asked her a question, she ran off."

"Mai Valentine?" Mokuba shrugged. "What else?"

"Your classmate, Ryuji Yamazaki ate a bug on a dare."

"How is THAT any news?"

Mokuba lit up, "It was how he ate it! Some girl called him 'bug eater', so he picked up a bug and picked her off the ground with his other hand. Then, he put the bug in his mouth and snorted it-."

"STOP!" Mokuba seemed disappointed in not getting to tell the rest of the story. "What else?"

"..."

"That just can't be all of the news, Mokuba."

"A hot rumor's been flying around that you broke up with Téa." Mokuba turned around and looked up at Seto. He had a concerned look on his face, "Were you dating Téa?"

"That rumor doesn't matter, Mokuba."

"Yeah, it does. It's just me, honorable big-brother. And, Téa's...Téa's BEAUTIFUL. She's not dating anyone... I think you should ask her out, but she hasn't been in school, lately. No one's seen her in days. They say that she's been crying so much that eventually she collasped and had to be sent home from dehydration. No one's seen her since last week."

"You should ask her friends about that, instead of listening to those stories. Maybe, Miho Nosaka?"

Mokuba rolled his eyes, "Why don't YOU ask her friends? I thought at least half of them were in your class with Miss Medusa. Or better yet, CALL HER."

"Just do it, Mokuba," Seto said as he started to march back to the school.

Post Chapter Disclaimer: Neither is Ryuji Yamazaki a character I own or a Yu-Gi-Oh character. He is copyright of "King of Fighters" video game.


	30. Out of Sight,

Téa entered Seto's office. Seto had his back turned to the door and was busy watching the world through the window, in silence. "Kaiba."

Seto quickly turned around in his chair, "Téa?" There she was, ...wearing a yellow chiffon short-sleeved dress with a scooped back. It pleated softly from beneath the black belt at her waist; outlined in gold was a black metal bow-shaped buckle. She had on black stockings with thick bold black vertical lines. As Téa started to walk up to his desk, he could hear the clacking sound of her hot pink patent leather heels. He noticed that she was carrying the evening dress that she wore almost two weeks ago. He noticed her pink stained lips. After arriving at the desk's side, she reached into her metallic gold handbag and dumped a few things out of it. Seto looked down at the desk, then back up at her, "What are you doing?"

"That's the one-thousand dollars you gave me, when you first gave me the job. You can have it back. The dress, too."

Seto glances back at the money again, then gets up, "Why are you giving it back to me?"

"I didn't do anything to deserve this. So, you can have these back." Seto slowly walked around the desk. "Now, PLEASE? Take the money." Téa seemed to be shaking; her heart was pounding. He had been looking into her eyes, ever since he stood up. He reaches back for the money, then drops it into her bag.

"I don't need your money."

Téa started to back up as he kept advancing, "Please, take the dress. I can't look at it anymore."

"I don't want the dress." His pace slowed, but he continued forward.

"No! You don't understand. You HAVE to take the dress back!" She shoves it at him, but before she could move away, he pulled her towards him by the waist. She drops the dress as she started to struggle, to get away, "NO! Let me go! Let ME go! Let me go! I can't look at it because she's gone!"

"What?" They both stopped.

"I wore it to my grandmother's funeral." Téa's lower lip shivered, next she started to cry and slump to the ground, Seto holding her the whole way. He held her head to his chest as she cried. "She's gone," Téa wailed. Seto was stunned. He did not know what to say, but he understood her pain. After a few moments, she looked up into his eyes, put her hands on his cheeks, and kissed him. Before its full release, Seto moved foward and started to kiss her back. He grabed her left arm and ran his left hand through her hair, and moaned as he gave her an aggressive kiss and was pulling her towards him. Téa then, pushed him away; her eyes wide open with shock, "Oh, my gosh." Téa quickly backed away from him, got up, then ran out.

Seto came up onto one knee and reached his arm out towards the doorway, "Téa!"


	31. Can You Silence My Lonely Heart?

He was so shocked when she left, that he froze. The lack of eating and sleeping, at first made him thought that he hallucinated the whole thing. He immediately delved into his work. This became automatic thing for him, sometime after he was adopted. Whether it was a dream or nightmare, he would get out of bed and find some work to do, if he could not find his chess set. If it was a dream, it helped pool all of his ideas together. If it was a nightmare, it just seemed to melt the bad feelings apart, piece by piece. But, for some reason he just could not shake this off. Seto was checking his company's revenue when his mind started to drift. He could hear Téa's voice in his head, "Seto. Seto? Seto? Seto! Seto...Seto...Seto."

Seto's lips cracked a smile and his voice purred, "I wish you wouldn't call me that." Suddenly, his fingers stopped and his mind went blank. He was shocked that the thought in his head was said out loud. He sighed. He suddenly became frustrated with himself. He lifted both hands up and ran them through his hair.

"I really need to finish this before I sleep, but I can't stop thinking about her. And, if I keep thinking about her, then I'll never sleep, either. I knew I should've fired her. I had all of the perfect reasons to fire her. Yet, I couldn't figure out the perfect reason for her to stay with me. I didn't know how to tell her to stay with me that night. The money was the excuse for her to stay, not the incentive. Why didn't she see what I was trying to tell her? Why didn't she read between the lines? I should've told her, then. Then again, I'm not sure if I would've said anything." Gazaboro Kaiba did not teach Seto a thing about love [thankfully] and everything about war. In war, no one should be your exact equal. And, you lose battles if anyone is higher than you are. If he put her higher than himself, because of his feelings for her, then he would always be bowing down to her. Placing her as true equal, she may eventually become above him. No one has ever been his equal and he was too scared to relinquish any control to her. What if it was too much control? What if he made stupid mistakes because of her? He could not afford it. Control is something that is hard to buy. Out of anyone, he should know that. Afterall, it can be scarier to have an equal, than a superior.

"I wasn't expecting to see her, yesterday. It was the first time that seeing her had stunned me. Damn, she looked good. When she looked up at me, I could see that she wanted to tell me something, but she kissed me instead. I never felt a rush like that before. It was all in slow motion, like the whole world would've stopped at any second. Her lips...they tasted like cotton candy." Seto remembered how that moment melted his heart. How much that moment made him not want to hold back, any longer; how he begged his heart not to hold him back, any more. "But, why did she look at me like that, then run off? Was I too aggressive? What do I do?" Seto looked around, then he quickly picked up the handset of his phone and dialed a phone number. The phone did nothing, but ring. Finally, he heard a voice: "You have just reached the Mazaki res-".

Seto quickly hung up as he noticed a nervous pain within his stomach. "Why did I hang up the phone? Why do I FEEL like this? This isn't me. I can't help feeling this way about her. Does she feel the same way about me?" He picked up the handset and fought the barrier around his heart as he started dialing Téa's phone number, again. But, he quickly lost nerve and hung up the phone, "Seto, you're an idiot. She left you...she left you, TWICE. If she liked you, she would have said so by now, right? She would have said it, instead of running away. Which means she doesn't like me." He frowned as he stared at the phone, "There's no point, anyway. It's obvious that she rejected me."

%~~~~~~~~~ 3 ~~~~~~~~~%

"I can't believe it. I couldn't have kissed him. This just has to be a dream. A very bad dream. My grandmother didn't die and I didn't actually kiss Seto Kaiba. I'll wake up and everything will be back to normal." Téa pinched herself, but she did not wake up. "Who am I kidding?" She opened up her closet. The black dress which Seto let her wear, was not there. She kicked off her heels and started taking off her stockings. As she did so, she looked at the answering machine. She did not see a blinking light, which meant no new messages. But, she could have sworn that she heard the answering machine go off, before she got inside, a few minutes ago. That was Seto. That was Seto who called. Téa did not know he called because Téa was not at home.

"I knew I shouldn't have worn all of that make-up. But, I didn't want him to see that I wasn't doing well. I didn't want his sympathy. I didn't want him to find out about the funeral. I just wanted to conduct my business and go. Exactly like he would've done. But, the way he looked at me...it was like he just understood what I was going through. I didn't want him to see me that way, that weak. But, the look he gave me...it wasn't the looks that strangers or my friends gave me. He just seemed to really know." She unbuckled the belt and pulled the dress over her head. She was wearing a nude colored bra and white hiphuggers. The hiphuggers had three cute cartoon pandas on the front right panel and, on the back, a little pink heart on the upper right side. After she finished hanging up the dress, she stood staring into the closet, "I didn't want anything to do with him anymore, yet I ended up kissing him. I couldn't take hiding it from him anymore and I just felt so lonely... And, I wanted him to know that I liked him. I just wanted him to know that I liked him!" Tears were rolling down her face and she brought her hands up to wipe them away. She could feel the stinging sensation of mascara in her eyes. She walked out of the dimly lit room and turned on the light as she entered into the white tiled bathroom, took out some soap, turned on the water, and started washing her face, "I shouldn't have kissed him. I didn't mean to kiss him." She looked up at herself in the mirror. The stinging had stopped, but she saw that not all of the mascara had washed off, "But, I didn't want him to know like that. What should I have done?" She rinsed her face, again. After her face looked clean, she turned off the faucet, then grabbed a pink towel from the counter and dried her face. She shut the lid on toilet and slowly sat. Téa looked sad.

"How could I have been so forward as to kiss him? He must think poorly of me now. Seto would never like a girl like me. He probably doesn't even like me. Maybe, it's better that I don't let him know. I'll just call him this weekend and leave a message saying that the kiss was a mistake and that it didn't mean anything."

~ 3 ~

Post Chapter Disclaimer:

1. Alternate chapter names: "Like a Boss" (song version by The Lonely Island), "Silent Movie" (song by Natasha Beddingfield), "no, I'm not a dentist", and "My jagged lonely heart". Yes, "Like a Boss" was the joke title for this chapter. I obviously wanted a song lyric or song name for the title.

2. "Jagged Lonely Heart" refers to lyrics of a particular song (seems to describe Seto a little). Here's some of them:

Even when the morning arises, I will go on

I am going insane!

My jagged, lonely heart!

If only we met on that day

I'm like a unwounded doll

My system shutdown,

I can't concentrate

I'm counting down the days until we meet

Lately the nights have been short

I can't get myself to sleep, it feels like an eternity

I feel like a fool,

look at me, I'm an idiot

This isn't me!

3. My reply towards the previous statement: Did I accidently put out a spoiler? (I won't even give you a hint as to which line.)


	32. Change of Plan

Seto was silent as usual during their limousine ride to school. He looked very tired. "There's been a change in plans."

"Huh," Mokuba looked at him.

"Remember that meeting that I had to re-schedule for this Friday, after those dweebs were ease-dropping on us?"

"Yeah."

"I've decided that you're coming with me. We'll even see the world a bit, while we're away."

"Awesome! I can't wait-!"

"On one condition...you have to take care of something, for us, before we leave. Miss Mazaki's grandmother died, while she was out of school. Send our condolences. Then, never talk to her ever, again."

"What? Why?"

Seto looked sad as he thought, "Because I don't want to think about Téa, anymore." He turned to his brother and said, "There's no point. This isn't just a trip, we're leaving Japan."

Seto let out a frustrated sigh. He thought the process would have been easier than this. Like most students, he could not stand sitting in a chair in the principal's office.

A female secretary walked up next to him and put some papers on the desk, "Here are the forms, Mr. Kaiba. In case you're in a rush, they state that you are withdrawing from our school, with good standing, and you are allowed to come back anytime you wish."

"I'll read them myself," Seto said roughly as he glanced over the papers. He caught the woman by the arm before she can leave. The strength of his grip startled her. He looked up at her, "What's the meaning of this! Where are the rest of the forms?" The principal entered the room and started walking towards his desk.

"Mr. Kaiba, all the forms you need are right there."

"I see all of MY forms! What about Mokuba's?"

The principal put his arms out with his palms facing the ground, moving them up and down, signaling Seto to relax, "Let go of our secretary and I will explain." The expression on his face showed his nervousness.

Seto looked annoyed, but let the woman go. She ran off and closed the door behind her. "WHERE'S the forms for Mokuba?"

The principal sat down, "Seto, this is high school. You can leave at any time you want, especially since you're 17-."

"WHY do I have to ask this, more than ONCE?"

"Okay, the cut and dry of it is: Mokuba's not enrolled here, you are. He's a minor. He would not be able to withdraw without the signature of a parent or guardian."

"How about I give you a generous donation?"

"We can't do that, Seto. We need Gazaboro Kaiba's signature, as he is the only listed parent for Mokuba."

"Fine! We'll just leave," Seto shouted as he stood up and turned to leave.

The principal quickly stood up, "And, you'd go to jail for kidnapping. May I suggest another option?" Seto stopped and turned back around. "You're leaving Japan, correct?" Seto nodded. "Well, ...you would have to give both sides a generous donation... What I mean is, we can overlook not having Gazaboro's signature if you provide proof that Mokuba's transfering to another school or will be under the tutelage of a licensed professional. All we need is an official letterhead announcing the tranfer and request for his grades."

"Why a donation, now?"

"What you proposed was illegal."

"Ditto."

"Well, a donation to both sides will hasten the process. On their side, they'll admit Mokuba and forget ever needing the signature. I'm sure Gazaboro will sign it once he gets there, if he ever does. Donation to our side, will guarantee Mokuba's just marked absent, providing that his attendence record was good. We'll even confirm the transfer the moment we get the paperwork."

"I'll think about it," Seto said as he left the office.


	33. Weight of Things that Remain Unspoken

"Delivery for Téa Mazaki," the man handed her a small box and a large bouquet of white lillies.

"Thank you," Téa said as she took the items. She watched as the man left and closed the door. She walked into the kitchen, placed the box and flowers on the counter. Before she opened the box, she noticed a note with the flowers:

Téa, Sorry for your loss. We have really enjoyed our time with you, so far. Please, let us know how we can help. We'll always be there when you need us. Sincerely, Mokuba and Seto Kaiba.

P.S. - Téa, I'm sorry about my brother being a jerk.

"I wonder if Mokuba's in school today," Téa thought to herself as she walked down the hallway, "I missed the beginning of this period, but at least I might catch him before lunch." When she called Kaiba Corp, earlier, the receptionist told her that Seto had scheduled himself to have left Japan, an hour ago, and would not be back for at least a month. She did not know how to change her plan. If he liked her, would he have called before he left? Would he tell her when he came back? Would he ever acknowledge that they kissed, at all? A strange background noise broke her train of thought. She looked outside the window as she heard the sound of a motor. It was a person, stopping a motorcycle. Téa watched as the cyclist took off the helmet. She saw long blonde curly hair. "OW!" Papers went flying in the air and Téa was rubbing her head.

"Téa, I'm so sorry," Bakura said quickly and started picking up Téa's notes. Téa bent down and joined. She saw that Bakura had just exited the bathroom.

"I demand my job back!" Téa and Bakura quickly moved into the throughway at the bathroom, as if by instinct. The voice belonged to Miss Lynn Medusa, "Seto Kaiba just marched into the classroom across from mine, with a gang of men, and took Mokuba out of class fifteen minutes ago!" There was a brief silence. "Don't tell me that it was a rumor, I saw the paperwork for Mokuba Kaiba's transfer, myself! If you deny me my spot back in this high school, I will sue EVERYONE! Do you hear me?" The two looked at one another. Miss Medusa could still be heard yelling from the prinicpal's office.

Téa's eyes went wide and thought to herself, "The Kaibas came to school today?" The school bell rang. Téa got up, "Oh, no!" She started to run down the hall. Bakura started to run down the hall after her, but the mob of students made him dropped Téa's notes, which he stopped to pick up.

Téa flung open the doors. After looking around, she saw that the person on the motorcycle was still there, but was stratling the bike. She started going down the stairs as fast as she could. She noticed that the cyclist was female and was talking to Joey. "Mai? Mai!" She reached the bottom of the stairs, then ran and stopped next to them, "Mai! I need your help. I need you to drive me to Kaiba Corp, quick! I'll give you $600!"

"That's it!"

"Please!"

Mai examined Téa's face, then shot her a sorrowful glance of 'why am I doing this?'. "Let's go!" Mai put on her helmet as Téa jumped on the back of the bike. Téa held on tight as Mai took off. Mai drove into Domino City and up the stairs of Kaiba Corp and at the glass doors.

"Mai!" Mai barely passes by a man in a suit exiting the automatic doors, drives past the receptionist, and spins the motorcycle to a stop in front of the elevators. Everyone around them were screaming and yelling.

"I hope this is worth putting yourself out there for."

"How did she know," Téa thought to herself, suprised.

"Go on!" Téa got off the motorcycle and Mai started driving around the lobby, diverting everyone's attention.

Téa gets into the elevator and looks at the panel. "I need a key to get to the helipad! And, I can't even get to Kaiba's personal meeting room without employee approval-," she thinks as she frantically looks at the buttons, then pushes one that will take her to the highest floor. "I hope I can get to the roof, after I exit." The elevator stops at the eighth floor. "Oh, no," Téa says as she backs into a corner. A man steps into the elevator and Téa gasps, "Roland!"

"Téa? What are YOU doing here? There's been a security breech."

"I'm sorry! It's my fault. I really need to tell Kaiba something before he leaves. It's urgent!" Roland starts to study her face. "Please, help me!" Roland puts his key into the elevator panel. The panel slides open and he bypasses the panic button and presses the button to the roof.

Téa ran from the elevator and onto the roof. "Téa, wait," Roland yelled as he reached for her arm, but it was too late.

She can see the helicoptor was already a foot off of the ground. "NO!" She starts running towards the helicopter, waving her arms, as the helicopter lifted off. "Kaiba, wait! Kaiba! Kaiba!" The helicopter started to turn.

Mokuba turned to Seto, "Hey, big brother! Isn't that Téa?"

Seto turned and looked down, "What!" The two looked down and started to watch Téa shouting and waving her arms, as they got higher in the air. "Téa," he said under his breath. He stood up and opened the door. "Téa!"

Téa was struggling to keep her uniform skirt from blowing upward. "Kaiba! Kaiba, come back! Kaiba, I-!" Seto couldn't make out what she was saying. Next, he could see that Téa was being pushed over by the winds.

Mokuba turned to the pilot, "Land this, right now!"

The brothers heard the pilot's voice through their headphones, "The motor's going too fast. I'll have to circle-." Seto had thrown off his headphones and jumped from the helicopter.

"Big brother!"

Seto landed on his feet and started to run over to Téa, "Téa!"

Téa screamed as she was being pushed against the ground. "Kaiba!"

As Seto reached her, she realized he looked angry, "It's dangerous! Why are you here?"

"Kaiba-!" The motor of the helicopter was drowning out her words. Téa was getting onto her hands and knees; her voice was strained, "Kaiba, I-!" Her words were drowned out, again.

"What!"

She started getting up, but fell as she tried to yell louder, "Kaiba, I-!"

Seto got to his knees and grabbed her by the arms, "What!" Seto got closer to her to shield her from the helicopter winds, as it was beginning to turn back.

"Kaiba, I like you!" Seto looked shocked. He leaned into her and said something into Téa's ear. Her eyes went wide. Next, she looked him in the eyes and said it, again. As the helicopter started to land, he grabbed her face and started to kiss her. She could not catch her breath; he would not stop kissing her, nor did she want him too.


	34. Epilogue

Solomon Moto smiled, "It's good to see that you're feeling much better, Téa."

Téa smiled back, "Me, too."

"Hey, guys!" After everyone turned around, Yugi continued, "You can start without me. I forgot something upstairs." Joey, Tristian, Bakura, Miho, and Téa sat down at a table, in the Kamé Game Store. Everyone at the table, except Miho, started to shuffle their decks.

"So? What should we do until he gets back," Bakura asked.

"Let's duel one another, every man for himself," Tristan replied.

"Nah. It shouldn't take him long to get back."

"Well? What do you suggest we do," Joey asked.

"How about: Truth or Dare," Miho asked.

"Who goes first?"

"I do," Téa said in a strong tone of voice. Everyone was shocked.

Joey looked concerned, "Are you sure you want to play?"  
"You bet. Truth or Dare?"

"Truth."

Téa smirked, "So, what was Mai doing at our school yesterday?"

Joey sighed, "I don't get it. I give her our phone numbers, but she never gives us hers. When she wants to say 'hello', she just drops by. She's been wondering about the plans for Serenity's surgery." Everyone smiled. They knew that Joey had a thing for Mai. They hoped that Mai had a thing for him, too. "Miho, Truth or Dare?"

Miho smiled, "Truth."

Joey looks at Tristan, then back at Miho, "Are you seeing anybody right now?"

"No," Miho seemed puzzled by the look the two teens were giving her. "Truth or Dare, Tristan?"

Tristan started to drool, "Dare."

"Excuse me," Téa said as she got up from the table and started jogging over to Yugi's grandfather, "Hey. Is there a place that I can take a call in private?" Solomon nodded. Téa took out her cellphone and pressed a button to answer the call, "One minute."

"Here," Solomon opened the door into the storage room. Téa was glad to get out of the room before anyone asked her the big question. The funeral was so beautiful, everyone wondered how her family could have afforded it. To make a long story short, Téa unfortunately spent all the money that Seto had given her. ALL of it, except $400. She would never be able to hold onto it for college, but was working for Seto worth it?

"Téa, are you there?"

"Yeah. Are you back, yet, Seto?" There was silence. "Seto?"

"Kaiba, I like you!"

Seto looked shocked. He leaned over and said into Téa's ear, "I want you to call me: Seto."

Her eyes went wide. Next, she looked him in the eyes, "Seto, I like you!" As the helicopter started to land, he grabbed her face and started to kiss her. He was not going to stop, even though it was hard for him to catch his breath.

"Sorry." He paused, "I'm still away. How are you feeling?"

"A bit better. I can't believe I miss hanging out with Mokuba so much, ...no offense. How is he?"

"He's being good...for now."

"That's good. Seto? Do you know when you'll come back?"

"No. I don't know when I'll be back. But, you'll be one of the first people to know."

Téa was confused, "I will?"

"Why wouldn't I, Téa? I didn't tell you this before, but Mokuba's the only other person who has this number." Téa remembered the businees card he gave her, after the helicopter landed. She took it out of her pocket and flipped it over. The number on the back matched the number he was calling her from. "Let's make this clear. Just because I gave you this number doesn't mean that we're seeing each other. And, it doesn't mean that I'm your boyfriend. Téa, ...I like you... Just now's not the time. Wait until I come back, then we'll see. How about we just get to know one another better, for now?"

Téa was beaming, "I'd like that." She could feel him smile from his side of the phone. Then, she heard yelling in the other room. As she peeked outside, she could see Solomon fighting Tristian for Miho's cellphone. I guess prank calls cross the line in his presence.

Yugi ran down the stairs, "Hey, guys! My parents gave me some photos from their vacation. Wanna see?" Joey, Tristan, Miho, and Bakura gathered around Yugi, while he held up a picture, in his hands, to his friends.

Miho nodded, "Ohhhhh. So, you look more like your-."

THE END

Author Notes:

Chapter 31, as you see it, never existed; it just formed.

1) The original Chapter 31 was going to be short. Another conversation between Seto and Mokuba. The original Chap 31 was a "decision" chapter and chap 32 was an "action based on decision" chapter.

2) Tea's thoughts and feelings about Seto was originally supposed to appear in Chapter 33 as information needed to understand the rest of the chapter.

3) I really wanted Seto to say a particular line, introvertedly. THEN, I actually considered that there are probably some readers out there that may not know anyone like Seto or of his motivations. This birthed an introverted dialogue which would have made the original idea for Chapter 31 awkward.

4) In the end, I decided that having TWO chapters of inner dialogue (split apart by an "action based on decision" chapter [32]) would be confusing, awkward, and mess with the flow. (It would slow down the story's ending too much.) This caused me to put both within the same chapter [31].

Chapter 33's title came from lyrics within a Maroon 5 song: "Won't Go Home Without You". Song did not inspire the chapter itself.

Alternate [joke] title: "Suddenly I see"(?) by KT Kunstall. The year that song came out, if this song was playing on a TV show, than the woman could complete the impossible. Part of the joke was that it took me a while to write it in a way where Tea didn't have ESP.

I'm glad for the epilogue because it kept them realistic. Originally what I wrote for Seto's conversation with Tea, seemed "mean".

And, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed this.


End file.
